We remind
readers that we are doing the Triennial Torah Cycle; that is we divide the
annual Torah cycle over three years.
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher
bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples,
and have given us your Torah. Blessed are you, YHVH,
giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Let
us declare from YHVH’s Word the destiny and purpose of ALL the nations of the
earth:
Gen 12:3 “And I shall bless those
who bless you, and curse him who curses you. And in you all the clans of the
earth shall be blessed.”
Gen 22:18 “And in your seed all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Psa 2:1 Why do the
gentiles rage1, And the peoples meditate emptiness? Footnote: 1Acts
4:25-26.
Psa 2:2 The sovereigns of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together, Against יהוה and against His Messiah, and say,
Psa 2:3 “Let us
tear apart Their bonds, And throw away Their ropes from us.”
Psa 2:4 He who is
sitting in the heavens laughs, יהוה mocks at them.
Psa 2:5 Then He
speaks to them in His wrath, And troubles them in His rage, saying,
Psa 2:6 “But I, I
have set My Sovereign on Tsiyon, My set-apart mountain.”
Psa 2:7 “I
inscribe for a law (chok): יהוה has said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have brought You forth.
Psa 2:8 ‘Ask of
Me, and I make the gentiles Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth Your
possession.
Psa 2:9 ‘Break
them with a rod of iron, Dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Psa 2:10 And now,
be wise, O sovereigns; Be instructed, you rulers of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve יהוה with
fear, And rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the
Son, lest He be enraged, And you perish in the way, For soon His wrath is to be
kindled. Blessed are all those taking refuge in Him.
Psa 47:1 Oh, clap
your hands, all you peoples! Shout to Elohim with a voice of singing!
Psa 47:2 For יהוה Most High is awesome; A great Sovereign over all the earth.
Psa 47:3 He
subdues peoples under us, And nations under our feet.
Psa 47:4 He
chooses our inheritance for us, The excellence of Ya’aqoḇ whom
He loves. Selah.
Psa 72:11 .. all sovereigns bow down before Him, All
nations serve Him.
Isa 2:2 And it shall be in the latter days that the
mountain of the House of יהוה is established on the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills. And all nations shall flow to it.
Isa 2:3 And many
peoples shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of יהוה, to the
House of the Elohim of Ya’aqoḇ, and let Him teach1 us His ways1,
and let us walk in His paths1, for out of Tsiyon comes forth the
Torah1, and the Word1 of יהוה from Yerushalayim.” Footnote: 1His
ways, His paths, the teaching and the Word of יהוה are used
synonymously
Isa 49:6 and He says, “Shall it be a small matter
for You to be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Yaʽaqoḇ, and to bring back
the preserved ones of Yisra’ĕl? And I shall give You as a light to the
gentiles, to be My deliverance to the ends of the earth!”
Isa 66:23 “And it shall be that from New Moon to New
Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,”
declares יהוה.
Zec 8:23 “Thus said יהוה of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all languages of the
nations take hold, yea, they shall take hold of the edge of the garment of a
man, a Yehuḏite1, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have
heard that Elohim is with you.” ’ ” Footnote: 1John 4:22.
Mat 24:14 “And this Good News of the reign shall be
proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end
shall come.
Definition of the Good news:
Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, having foreseen that
Elohim would declare right the nations by belief, announced the Good News to Aḇraham beforehand,
saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you,”
Act 2:17 ‘And it shall be in the last days, says
Elohim, that I shall pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.
Rev 15:4 “Who shall not fear You, O יהוה, and esteem Your Name? Because You
alone are kind. Because all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your righteousnesses have been made
manifest.”
YHVH has chosen a remnant to carry the true light of His truth in these
last days:
Rom 11:1 I say then, has Elohim rejected His people?
Let it not be! For I also am a Yisra’ĕlite, of the seed of Aḇraham, of the tribe of
Binyamin.
Rom 11:2
Elohim has not rejected His people whom He knew beforehand.1
Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Ěliyahu, how he pleads with
Elohim against Yisra’ĕl, saying, Footnote: 1Ps. 94:14.
Rom 11:3 “יהוה, they have killed Your prophets and
overthrown Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?
Rom 11:4 But what
does the answer of Elohim say to him? “I have left for Myself seven
thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Ba’al.”
Rom 11:5 So
therefore also, at this present time a remnant according to the choice of
favour has come to be.
Rom 11:11 I say
then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Let it not be! But by their
fall deliverance has come to the gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:12 And if
their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the gentiles,
how much more their completeness!
Rom 11:17 And if
some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, have
been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive
tree,
Rom 11:18 do not
boast against the branches. And if you boast, remember: you do not bear
the root, but the root bears you!
Rom 11:19 You
shall say then, “The branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”
Rom 11:20 Good! By
unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by belief. Do not be arrogant, but
fear.
Rom 11:21 For if
Elohim did not spare the natural branches, He might not spare you either.
‘Just the fact that we bow down and worship the one
true Elohim of Yisrael and have come to accept and embrace His Torah as
righteous and truth cannot be accredited to our choices alone but is a result
of His working in our hearts. In some unexplainable and mysterious way, His
sovereign choosing of us does not negate our responsibility to make righteous
and set apart choices, but it still remains true that had He not chosen to put
His love upon us, we would all be like Esav, going our own way, living
spiritual lives of mixture and persecuting those who desire to join themselves
to YHVH through the covenant, His Torah as revealed through our Messiah.’
Gen 25:1 And Aḇraham took another wife, whose name was Qeturah.
She
was given this name because her deeds were as beautiful as incense (ketores)
and because she was chaste (Keturah is Aramaic for restrained). The word Ketorah (SHD 6988, from 6989), found
only in Devarim/Deuteronomy 33:10, also means smoke of offering or
incense.
The Yakult
Midrash makes an assertion concerning all three wives of Abraham.
Abraham married three wives – Sarah, a
daughter of Shem; Keturah, a daughter of Japheth; and Hagar, a daughter of Ham
Gen
25:2 And she bore him Zimran, and
Yoqshan, and Meḏan, and Miḏyan, and Yishbaq, and Shuwaḥ.
Gen
25:3 And Yoqshan brought forth Sheḇa and Deḏan. And the sons of Deḏan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Le’ummim.
Gen
25:4 And the sons of Miḏyan were Ěphah, and Ěpher, and Ḥanoḵ, and Aḇiḏa, and Elda’ah. All these were the children of Qeturah.
Gen 25:5
Now Aḇraham gave all that he had to Yitsḥaq,
Gen
25:6 but to the sons of the concubines
whom Aḇraham had, Aḇraham gave gifts while he was still living, and
sent them away from his son Yitsḥaq, eastward, to the land of the east.
Ishmael’s
status seems to have been different from the other concubine-children. From the
fact that he participated in Avraham’s burial (vs 9), it is apparent that he
had not been sent away permanently, as were the others.
According to Selbie, Arab genealogists maintain there
was a tribe called Katura living in the neighbourhood of Mecca. Herodotus (ca.
490-425 BCE) stated that: “Arabia is the last of inhabited lands towards the
south, and it is the only country which produces frankincense, myrrh, cassia,
cinnamon, and ledanum”, and adds: “Concerning the spices of Arabia let no more
be said. The whole country is scented with them, and exhales an odour marvellously
sweet” .Frankincense (lebonah: SHD 3828) was found almost exclusively in
Arabia. The prophet Jeremiah mentions incense coming from Sheba (Jer.
6:20)
A
detailed description of the meaning of the names of the sons of Keturah and
their origins and impact in history can be found on the following website:
Gen
25:7 And these are all the years of Aḇraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.
Gen
25:8 And Aḇraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, aged and
satisfied, and was gathered to his people.
Gen
25:9 And his sons Yitsḥaq and Yishma’ĕl buried him in the cave of Maḵpĕlah, which is before Mamrĕ, in the field of Ephron son of Tsoḥar the Ḥittite,
Gen
25:10 the field which Aḇraham purchased from the sons of Ḥĕth. There Aḇraham was buried with Sarah his wife.
Gen
25:11 And it came to be, after the death
of Aḇraham, that Elohim blessed his son Yitsḥaq. And Yitsḥaq dwelt at Be’ĕr Laḥai Ro’i.
Gen
25:12 And this is the genealogy of
Yishma’ĕl, Aḇraham’s son, whom Haḡar the Mitsrite, Sarah’s female servant, bore to Aḇraham.
Gen
25:13 And these were the names of the
sons of Yishma’ĕl, by their names, according to their
generations: The first-born of Yishma’ĕl, Neḇayoth; then Qĕḏar, and Aḏbe’ĕl, and Miḇsam,
Isa 60:7 “All the flocks of Qĕḏar are gathered to
you, the rams of Neḇayoth
serve you; they come up for acceptance on My altar, and I embellish My esteemed
House.
Gen
25:14 and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Gen
25:15 Haḏar, and Tĕma, Yetur,
Naphish, and Qĕḏemah.
Gen
25:16 These were the sons of Yishma’ĕl and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements,
twelve chiefs according to their tribes.
Gen
25:17 And these were the years of the
life of Yishma’ĕl: one hundred and thirty-seven years. And he
breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
Gen
25:18 And they dwelt from Ḥawilah as far as Shur, which is east of Mitsrayim as you go toward
Ashshur. He settled before all his brothers.
These
tribes appear hidden from history but the little we do know is that they have
had a profound impact on the history of mankind. We believe from these tribes
developed the religion of Islam. These tribes settled in areas that today are
oil rich and these nations have gathered large reserves of wealth and we see
the powerful influence these nations are having on the world, especially
regarding their response to the nation of Israel.
We need to remind ourselves that these nations
are also the seed of Avraham and the prophecies of scripture seem to indicate
that many will return to YHVH the Elohim of Yisrael in the latter days.
Isa 19:1 The message concerning Mitsrayim (Egyptians).
See, יהוה is riding on a swift cloud, and He
shall come into Mitsrayim. And the idols of Mitsrayim shall tremble at His
presence, and the heart of Mitsrayim melt in its midst.
Isa 19:2 “And I
shall stir up Mitsrites against Mitsrites, and they shall fight, each one
against his brother, and each one against his neighbour, city against city,
reign against reign.
Isa 19:3 “And the
spirit of Mitsrayim shall vanish within them, and I destroy their counsel. And
they shall seek the idols and the mutterers, the mediums and the sorcerers.
Isa 19:4 “And I
shall deliver the Mitsrites into the hand of a cruel master,(maybe the anti- messiah or cruel task masters from amongst themselves)
and a fierce sovereign to rule over them,” declares the Master, יהוה of
hosts.
Isa 19:20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness
to יהוה of hosts in the land of Mitsrayim.
When they cry to יהוה because of the oppressors, He sends
them a Saviour and an Elohim, and shall deliver them.
Isa 19:22 And יהוה shall smite Mitsrayim, smite it and heal it. And they shall
turn to יהוה, and He
shall hear them and heal them.
Isa 19:23 In that
day there shall be a highway from Mitsrayim to Ashshur, and Ashshur shall come
into Mitsrayim and Mitsrayim into Ashshur, and Mitsrayim shall serve with
Ashshur.
Isa 19:24 In that
day Yisra’ĕl shall be one of three with Mitsrayim and Ashshur, even a blessing
in the midst of the earth,
Isa 19:25 whom יהוה of hosts shall bless, saying,
“Blessed is Mitsrayim My people, and Ashshur the work of My hands, and Yisra’ĕl
My inheritance.”
Remember Yishmael means “YHVH will listen.”
Asshur is not
a reference to Syria but was originally a much larger area which included many
of the modern day Arab and Muslim countries as far as and including modern day
Iraq.
Gen
25:19 And this is the genealogy of Yitsḥaq, Aḇraham’s son. Aḇraham brought forth Yitsḥaq.
Gen
25:20 And Yitsḥaq was forty years old when he took Riḇqah as wife, the daughter
of Bethu’ĕl the Aramean of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laḇan the Aramean.
Gen
25:21 And Yitsḥaq prayed to יהוה for his wife, because she was barren. And יהוה answered his prayer, and Riḇqah his wife conceived.
Gen
25:22 And within her the children
struggled together, and she said, “If all is right, why am I this way?” So she
went to ask יהוה.
Gen
25:23 And יהוה said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your
body. And one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older serve the
younger.”
When
we consider those that call themselves believers, we become aware of intense differences
between believers.
Eze 34:17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus said the
Master יהוה, “See, I am judging between sheep
and sheep, between rams and goats.
Eze 34:20 ‘Therefore thus said the Master יהוה to them, “See, I Myself shall judge
between fat and lean sheep.
Rom 9:11 Yet, before they were born or had done any
good or evil – in order that the purpose of Elohim, according to choice, might
stand, not of works but of Him who calls –
Rom 9:12 it was said to her, “The greater shall serve
the lesser,”
Rom 9:13 as it has been written, “Ya’aqoḇ I have loved, but
Ěsaw I have hated.”
Rom 9:14
What, then, shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with Elohim? Let it
not be!
Rom 9:15 For
He says to Mosheh, “I shall favour whomever I favour, and I shall have
compassion on whomever I have compassion.”
Rom 9:16 So,
then, it is not of him who is wishing, nor of him who is running, but of Elohim
who shows favour.
Essentially
we see two kinds of spiritual people are represented by Esav and Yakov. Esav
and his seed show an aggression towards Yakov and his seed; so we see even to
this day. We all need to be aware that both these natures can easily be found
in all those who call themselves believers.
Gal 4:28 And we, brothers, as Yitsḥaq was, are children
of promise.
Gal 4:29
But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him born
according to the Spirit, so also now.
We
know that the descendants of Esav can be traced to Rome. We also know that
during the history of the church many millions of people have been killed in
the name of G-d.
Today
an aggressive spirit reigns in the hearts of many who call themselves
believers.
The
descendants of Esav remain hunters and will hold evangelical crusades to try
and capture as many souls as possible, while a very small remnant are content
to live in the tents of Yakov looking after sheep and studying the Torah. This
small remnant will grow to become the light to the nations.
Yahshua
comes to show us how truth is conveyed from one person to the next –
discipleship – one and one transmission of eternal truths.
The
way of Yakov will prevail and nations will come to Him in the last days because
of the restoration of the spirit of Yakov.
Ultimately
the older will serve the younger.
Yakov or
“heel” has in the past endured perhaps a too harsh a criticism of been a
deceiver, even though the evidence does seem to suggest this. We need to
midrash more around this dilemma. The first time the word “heel” is used is in
Beresheet
Gen 3:15 “And I put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her Seed1. He shall crush your head, and
you shall crush His heel.” Footnote: 1First promise of the Messiah.
Note we
sometimes get this confused. We think the Messiah will crush his (ha satan)
head and he will bruise the Messiah’s heel. Yakov could be a type of Messianic
figure showing us that the spirit of Ha Satan is to crush and kill us by trying
to enforce his ways upon us. The Messianic prophecy reveals that the ways of
Esav will eventually be crushed so that he will no longer have power over the
seed of Yakov.
Gen
25:24 And when the days were filled for
her to give birth, and see, twins were in her womb!
Gen
25:25 And the first came out red all
over, like a hairy garment, so they called his name Ěsaw.
Esav
comes from the Hebew root word “asah” which means “to do” implies that Esav was
a “finished” work. He was appeared mature and developed when he was born.
We
can deduce from this that Esav’s descendents also give the idea that they are
mature and fully developed even though they are not.
Gen
25:26 And afterward his brother came
out, with his hand holding on to Ěsaw’s heel, so his name was called Ya’aqoḇ.
And Yitsḥaq was sixty years old when she
bore them.
Gen
25:27 And the boys grew up. And Ěsaw
became a man knowing how to hunt, a man of the field, while Ya’aqoḇ was
a complete man, dwelling in tents.
Extract from the book of Jasher: 26: 17 And the boys grew up to their
fifteenth year, and they came amongst the society of men. Esau was a designing
and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field, and Yakov/Jacob was a man
perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the
instructions of YHVH and the commands of his father and mother.
Gen
25:28 And Yitsḥaq loved Ěsaw because he ate of his wild game, but Riḇqah loved Ya’aqoḇ.
Gen
25:29 And Ya’aqoḇ
cooked a stew, and Ěsaw came in from the field, and he was weary.
Gen
25:30 And Ěsaw said to Ya’aqoḇ,
“Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” That is why his name
was called Eḏom.
Gen
25:31 But Ya’aqoḇ
said, “Sell me your birthright today.”
Gen
25:32 And Ěsaw said, “Look, I am going
to die, so why should I have birthright?”
Gen
25:33 Then Ya’aqoḇ
said, “Swear to me today.” And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Ya’aqoḇ.
Gen
25:34 Ya’aqoḇ
then gave Ěsaw bread and stew of lentils. And he ate and drank, and rose up and
left. Thus Ěsaw despised his birthright.
Gen 26:1 And there
was a scarcity of food in the land, besides the first scarcity of food which
was in the days of Aḇraham. And Yitsḥaq went to Aḇimeleḵ, sovereign of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Gen
26:2 And יהוה appeared to him and said, “Do not
go down to Mitsrayim, live in the land which I command you.
Gen
26:3 “Sojourn in this land. And I shall
be with you and bless you, for I give all these lands to you and your seed. And
I shall establish the oath which I swore to Aḇraham your father.
Gen
26:4 “And I shall increase your seed
like the stars of the heavens, and I shall give all these lands to your seed.
And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
Gen
26:5 because Aḇraham obeyed My voice and guarded My Charge: My commands,
My laws, and My Torot1.” Footnote: 1Torot - plural of
Torah, teaching
Gen
26:6 And Yitsḥaq dwelt in Gerar.
Gen
26:7 And when the men of the place asked
about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is
my wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me for Riḇqah, because she is good-looking.”
Gen
26:8 And it came to be, when he had been
there a long time, that Aḇimeleḵ sovereign of the Philistines looked through a window,
and he watched and saw Yitsḥaq
playing with Riḇqah his wife.
Vs 8 Hebrew word for
playing is “metzachek” same root word for Yitzchak the same root word for
laughter.
The sages derive from
this that you can tell when someone is intimate with another by the way they
laugh together.
Gen
26:9 So Aḇimeleḵ
called Yitsḥaq and said, “See, truly she is
your wife! So how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Yitsḥaq said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account
of her.’ ”
Gen
26:10 And Aḇimeleḵ
said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people had almost lain with
your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.”
Gen
26:11 And Aḇimeleḵ
commanded all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall
certainly be put to death.”
“Baruch atah YHVH,
Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet,
v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh,
our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth,
and have planted
everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, Yahweh giver of the Torah –
Ameyn
Please note these notes
are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final
authority on any subject.